appeal to authority

Appeals to Authority

  • Understanding Casual vs. Full-Fledged Assurances

    • Casual Assurances:

      • Casual assurances act as testimonial premises that support a claim.

      • Example: "I saw it with my own two eyes that Smith was at the party."

    • Full-Fledged Assurances:

      • Involve authoritative sources backing up a claim.

      • Example phrases include: "Recent studies show that..." or "Historians say that..."

Recognizing Authority

  • Importance of Legitimate Appeals

    • An authority provides testimony; trusting an authority means relying on their expertise.

    • Critical Questions for Legitimacy:

      1. Who is the person citing the authority?

      2. Is there a valid reason to cite this authority?

      3. Is the authority being accurately depicted?

      4. Is the authority a recognized expert in the subject area?

      5. Does the authority hold a consensus view among peers?

      6. Can the question be resolved by expert opinion?

Assessing Authority's Trustworthiness

  • Who Would You Trust?

    • Example choices for business advice:

      • Someone who runs a business.

      • An economist.

      • Avoid reliance on those outside legitimate expertise (e.g., Uri Geller, a magician).

  • Evaluating Appeal to Authority Examples:

    1. Surgeon General's view on pre-marital sex vs. health concerns about smoking.

    2. Claims on films based on authority from magazines.

    3. The validity of protestor figures from organizers.

Example of an Argument and its Authority Appeal

  • Case Study: Intelligent Computers

    • Debate on if computers can think intelligently.

    • Hans Moravec, an expert in AI, claims robots will have human-like intelligence within 50 years.

    • Argument's reliance on Moravec's expertise is scrutinized; not all authorities agree.

Active Euthanasia Perspective

  • Arguments Against Active Euthanasia

    • Cited from a paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

    • Noted that it violates the principle that "doctors must not kill."

    • Ethical implications and historical context provided from Hippocratic Oath.

Authority Quality Control

  • Corruption and Rigging Issues

    • Discussion on potentially rigged peer-reviewed papers.

    • Importance of multiple authorities providing diverse perspectives (e.g., The Challenger disaster analysis).

    • Comparison of information sources such as expert testifiers vs. hired guns, and the implications of biased authorities.